Blumenauer, Schrader open a window into defense contracting

The much-discussed, long-running litigation over whether military contractor KBR knowingly exposed a bunch of National Guard soldiers to a carcinogen, hexavalent chromium, has brought us to the point of an amendment to the next military authorization bill. The amendment, attached Oregon Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Kurt Schrader, will require the Pentagon to say when it alters the rules regarding liability for contractors. (That's what the Pentagon did for KBR, back when it was tasked with restoring Iraq's oil industry: It granted immunity to the contractor from future liability.) Here's Julie's story on the latest development.

This is a story that pits a bunch of Oregon soldiers who followed their orders against an obscure contracting process that extends extreme protections to contractors.